Govt says over 4.5 lakh NRIs got foreign citizenship since 2014

New Delhi: Over 4.5 lakh Indians have acquired foreign citizenship in 117 countries since 2014 till date, the government said on Wednesday.

In a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha, Minister of State for External Affairs Gen. (Retd.) V.K. Singh also said a total of 46,188 Indians were naturalised during 2016 as compared to 42,213 in 2015.

“As per the information available with the ministry, 4,52,109 Indian nationals have acquired foreign citizenship in 117 countries from 2014 to 2017 (till date),” he said.

According to the 2016 yearbook of immigration statistics published by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the highest number of Indians were naturalised in California (10,298), followed by New Jersey (5,312), Texas (4,670) and New York (2,954), the Minister said.

Replying to another question, Gen. Singh said as many as 4,052 Indian nurses have travelled after taking emigration clearance.